SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan and Mario Elie picked up the
slack for foul-plagued David Robinson as the San Antonio Spurs
rolled to an 85-64 victory over the Detroit Pistons, who were
held to the lowest total in franchise history.

Duncan recorded his fourth straight double-double with 17 points
and 14 rebounds while Elie added 16 points in his first start of
the season, helping San Antonio (5-5) snap a two-game losing
streak and climb back to the .500 mark.

"We did some things better offensively today," Duncan said. "We
have to take that into our game tomorrow (at Minnesota). If we
keep pushing the ball and get good movement, we'll be OK."

"They get tired of me talking," Elie added. "We have talent but
we have to believe. It takes more than talent alone. It takes
heart to win. It's good to be a nice guy but you can't always be
a nice guy. I'm seeing Tim get more assertive, so I think they
are coming around."

Robinson scored just 10 points, playing only 15 minutes after
picking up his fourth foul in the first minute of the third
quarter. He also got into foul trouble in Friday's 106-94 loss
to the Los Angeles Lakers, finishing with just 11 points in 26
minutes.

"The biggest difference was that we moved the ball well,"
Robinson said. "We actually got some fastbreaks today and that
made it easier for us."

Averaging more than 25 points per game in his nine-year career,
Robinson is contributing just 14.4 points through 10 games and
is shooting under 50 percent for the first time since entering
the NBA. He made just 3-of-7 shots today.

"We neeed this win," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
"We've been struggling in ways I can't describe. The pleasing
part about this was we did well in things we've had trouble
with. First, our free throw shooting was better and second, on
offense we aren't slowing down as much."

The Spurs did not need much from Robinson as Detroit shot just
26 percent (21-of-81) from the field and went nearly nine
minutes without a basket in the fourth quarter. The Pistons were
held to four foul shots in the period until Charles O'Bannon hit
a jumper with 3:06 remaining.

"It was like the nightmare at the Alamodome," Detroit forward
Grant Hill said.

Again playing without injured guard Joe Dumars, the Pistons were
held under 70 points for the second time this season. They set
the previous franchise mark for futility in a 78-69 loss to the
New York Knicks on February 15.

Hill scored 16 points for the Pistons but was just 5-of-21 from
the field. Jerry Stackhouse added 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting.
Hill was at a loss to expain the Pistons' poor shooting.

"Maybe the construction downtown needed some more bricks," he
said. "We sure provided them tonight. At least sometimes you
have two or three guys get hot. Tonight we had nobody. If you
told me we were gonna hold this talented San Antonio team to 85
points, usually I'd take that."

The Spurs put away Detroit early, opening a 43-22 cushion on
Elie's dunk with 3:06 remaining in the first half. He made
6-of-10 from the field in 27 minutes.

"I decided to start Mario and bring Jaren (Jackson) in off the
bench," Popovich said. "I thought it might provide better
consistency at both ends of the court and give J.J. a bit of a
rest."

After pulling within 46-30 at halftime, the Pistons made a brief
run early in the third quarter.

They closed within 12 on four occasions in the period, the last
time at 54-42 on Hill's 18-footer. But the Pistons missed nine
straight shots and San Antonio extended its advantage to 70-50
on Steve Kerr's 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter.

Sean Elliott added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Spurs,
who shot 48 percent (33-of-69) and maintained a 20-point cushion
throughout most of the final period as the Pistons missed their
first 14 shots in the fourth quarter.

"Field goal percentage, that's where the game is," Detroit coach
Alvin Gentry said. "We did a good job on defense against David
Robinson and we did a hell of a job on Tim Duncan. But somewhere
you got to make shots."